


Three Faces Dorian Makes that Drive Kennex Crazy, and One that doesn't

by abigail89



Category: Almost Human
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-13
Updated: 2013-10-13
Packaged: 2017-12-29 07:44:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1002788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abigail89/pseuds/abigail89
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are many faces Dorian makes, most of which drive Kennex crazy. Most.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Three Faces Dorian Makes that Drive Kennex Crazy, and One that doesn't

**Author's Note:**

> Still waiting to see something more than trailers, shorts, and interviews. Still a shot in the dark as far as character interactions. Still quietly obsessing.

1\. 

"Why do you do that?"

"What?" Dorian replies. He fidgets with his fingers, tapping them on his knee, in order, up and down as if he were playing scales on the piano. "This?" He runs his fingers up, starting with the smallest finger on his left hand, then in perfect synchronization and timing, the scale moves to the right hand, double taps the pinky and reverses the scale to run in the opposite direction.

"Well, we can start with that," Kennex says drily. "So, why?"

"I don't know."

Kennex nods his head, checks his rear view mirror and then looks out of the window. "Fine. Don't tell me."

Dorian faces away from his human partner again, and all of a sudden, feels a surge in the sub-processor controlling his facial muscles and he rapidly blinks his eye lids and makes a sputtering noise with his mouth. He tries to find the hangup in the routine, and sends a command from his central processor to shut it down, then another to reboot it. He feels his face, neck and shoulders relax as the program comes back online.

"That's just fucking freaky," Kennex says.

Dorian rolls his eyes (at least the sub-processor works really well, because he rolls his eyes at Kennex a lot.) "As an android, sometimes my processors get hung up. Like your bowels get hung up if you don't eat enough fiber. Or when your hand freezes because of the arthritis that's becoming worse."

"Hey, how do you know about that?

"Because, Detective, I observe and I analyze."

Kennex snorts. "Well, stop doing that."

"But I am programmed to observe and analyze. That is what being a cop is all about." Dorian is having a hard time following Kennex in this discussion because he's not being logical.

"I don't mean when we're at a crime scene. I mean, stop observing me."

"Why should I do that when you observe me? You noticed that I move my fingers and that my maxio-facial sub-processor occasionally needs to be shut down and rebooted so that my mouth works correctly. It seems to me you're the one doing the observing."

"Oh my god," Kennex growls, "would you shut up?"

2\. 

"Stop staring."

Dorian's lips curl upwards slowly, but he doesn't break eye contact. "I am not."

"You are. You stare at me a lot."

"I do not."

Kennex gets up from his desk, twirling his empty coffee mug on his finger. "Is lying part of your programming? Because you do it really well."

Dorian watches him--stares at him--as he walks across the squad room. "I do not lie."

3\. 

Despite the occasional bug in his programming, Dorian is, John admits, remarkably human-like. Totally unlike the MX units that are so...robotic. His voice modulates in pitch in tone; his smiles in a natural way; he even gets most of the jokes they tell in the squad room.

But then Dorian will do something to remind John that he he really isn't an organic, living, breathing member of the species.

"I can get the analysis of his blood in several seconds," Dorian says as he finishes injecting himself with the scarily long hypodermic. He goes glassy-eyed, then says, "PCP measures zero point fives, twice the level for brain injury. He also has traces of..."

John turns and says as he walks away, "Great. Thanks."

Dorian misses the look of disappointment on his partner's face

+1

Kennex is breathing hard when they drop behind the car. "This is not going to hold us for long," Dorian says. "We are surrounded."

"Do you see an escape route yet?" Kennex ducks his head as another shot blazes by, hitting the dumpster some thirty feet away. Bits of metal rain down on them. Another shot follows; it takes out a chunk of the metal container that lands too close to comfort.

"No, but you are going to have to move." Dorian rises, pulls off several shots that lands true, taking out one of their assailants. "I cannot guarantee the safety of this position." The others aim for the deteriorating dumpster and hammer away at it. Metal hunks fly.

"What about you?" A piece catches John right above the eye. Blood immediately pours down his face.

"Shit!" Kennex exclaims, wiping furiously at the blood. "Shit. Dorian, cover my right side. Can't see." He spots one of the gang members moving on his left; he shoots and brings him down.

"Nice shot," Dorian says. He notices the blood that now covers a lot (forty-one point two percent) "John, your head."

"Yeah," Kennex replies. "Is it bad?" Another shot whizzes by.

Dorian responds by rising up from behind the car and squeezing off another shot; it hits the guy in the neck. He turns back and stares glassy-eyed into John's wound. But then, warmth, concern, confidence returns to the shiny blue. "It will keep." He tears a portion of his shirt off and presses it to Kennex's head. "Keep pressure on it while I take care of these last two assholes."

Kennex slides further down beside the car, his head throbbing now with pain and escaping blood. He feels his hold on consciousness slipping as his hand grows warm. "Dorian," he says weakly. "I'm fading, man."

"You cannot," Dorian says loudly. "John, stay with me. John!"

As Kennex's vision goes to dark, he realizes Dorian is calling him John. He likes it.

*~*  


Kennex opens his eyes. It's dark, but a weak light illuminates Dorian.

His face is impassive, still. Kennex wonders who was the model for Dorian, if he indeed had one. Because he has to admit the android is handsome--when he's not being annoying. He watches Dorian carefully through heavily lidded eyes.

Dorian turns his head to regard him. A slow, sweet smile steals across his face. "Now who's staring, Detective?"

Kennex, busted, grins in return, but quickly remembers they were in dire straits not long ago. "Hey, what happened after I passed out?"

"Our backup arrived," Dorian replies, "but it was unnecessary. I had already dealt with the final assailant. We were able to get you to the medical transport shortly after."

Kennex recalls regaining consciousness briefly as he was being moved in the midst of the chaos. He thinks Dorian may have carried him to the ambulance, but he's not ready to ask.

"Was it me or did I hear you call our perps 'assholes'? Kennex asks.

"I believe you did. It is something for which I am not especially proud."

"Aw, well, don't worry about it. I'm sure I've used worse language."

"You have indeed, Detective. I think you are having a bad influence on my programming."

"That would be a first," Kennex says with a short, quiet laugh.

Silence falls between them and grows. Kennex finally falls back asleep.

He doesn't notice that Dorian has taken his hand in his. Or, maybe he does and he's not ready to acknowledge it.

Someday, he will.


End file.
